I moved to Portland pretty much straight out of high school back in the early '90s. Back then, it was a very different city than it is now. It was a quirky, arty little seaside city in the armpit of the United States. Don't get me wrong, I would never EVER live anywhere else on Earth, but our location speaks for itself geographically.

It was a great spot to be young, work like five jobs, have seven roommates, and simultaneously have the time of your life. These days, it's the poster city for craft beer, out-of-state money, and about half the soul it had a decade ago. But, it is a damn nice spot to visit, and apparently to fall in love in as well.

WalletHub.com just put out their list of the top cities to date in, and our very own little Portland came in at #8. Not too bad for a city that at the right time of day, in certain areas, can smell like the inside of a barnacle crusted cod trawler. But naturally, it made me think, Bangor must be on this list too, right?

Well, after checking it over thoroughly a few times, near as I can tell, out of the 182 cities on the list, Bangor came in 487th. Or maybe it just didn't make the list. Well let's check out the criteria for the list:

...compared more than 180 U.S. cities, using a number of indicators for “dating-friendliness” including percentage of the population that is single, the average price for a two-person meal, the average price of beer and wine, the number of parks, gyms, coffee shops, bars and restaurants per capita, and the cost to rent a one-bedroom apartment.

Well, let's break it down. Single population percentage....hmmmm... during COVID. Probably the smallest it's ever been. Haha. Well, we do have some fantastic restaurants around here with great prices, but try getting into one on a normal weekend, not in COVID. With a fairly limited number of choices, without resorting to a romantic dinner at Subway, that can be a stretch sometimes.

Now, we have this whole beer and wine thing on lockdown. I don't care how many craft breweries there are in Portland. How many convenience stores down there can you get nips of Fireball AND Allen's, along with a container of milk? One stop shopping people!!! that's what we have. Screw Portland!

Now this was the part that made me laugh. the cost of a one bedroom apartment. In Bangor, that's pretty tough. For a lot of folks, living by yourself is a luxury. In Portland it's physically impossible. When a one bedroom in P-Town costs as much as the mortgage on my house in the country with 3 acres of land, count me out.

To be fair, Portland was not the only city in Maine to make the list. Apparently, Lewiston is for lovers as well. Who knew?! They came in right close behind Portland at #169. The #1 city for dating in America, you ask? Madison, Wisconsin. It would seem they have all the right moves in Madison.

But if dating is what the goal is, remember..... we live in a place called Bangtown. Need I say more?

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